Mechanism for starting hydrocarbon-engines.



No. 841,780. PATENTED JAN. 22, 1907.

- J. O. HOBBS. MECHANISM FOR STARTING HYDROGARBON ENGINES.

APPLICATION PI LEDPEB.13,1904.

a SHEETS-$133121 1.-

PATENTBD JAN. 22, 1907.

J.V.O.IMHOBBS. v MECHANISM FOR STARTING HYDROCARBON ENGINES.

APPLIOAT IDN FILED PEB.13,1904.

' 3 SHEETSSHBET 2.

\iazieiiiizga &

rillllrfldllll 'No. 841,780; I PATENTED JAN. 22, 1907.

. J. O.'HOBBS. V j MECHANISM FOR STARTING HYDROOARBON ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 13, 1904.

" 3 SHEETS-SHEET a.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

. Joni; o. nosssor CHICAGO, .IL mo'isL -.IYME,CHANISM FoFi STARTING, HYDIIRQCARBONQENGINES.

No. 841,780. i

. To all whom it win/y concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN O. HOBBS, a citizen of the United'States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,

5 am the inventor of certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanisms for Starting Hydrocarbon-Engines, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to that class of mech- 1o anisms for startin engines comprising a shaft connected wit the piston of the main engine, an auxiliary piston-cylinder connected with a suitable source of fluid under pressure and provided with a piston mounted 1 5 therein, means for connecting such auxiliary piston with the starting-shaft, and means for admitting fluid under pressure to such auxiliary piston-cylinder-for operating such auxiliary piston and thereby the starting-shaft.

ployed forgiving the starting-shaft, and therey the main piston, the necessary initial impulse preceding the ignition of the first charge so as to set the engine in operation.

The principal o mechanism for starting gmes.

0 will appear from an examination of the drawings and the following description and claims.

The invention consists in the features, combinations, and details of CQIlSiDIIiGiJlOII o iaryfpiston-cylinder with its piston mechanism in initial position; Fig. 3, a similar view of the parts shown in Fig. 2, showing the mechanism for controlling the inlet of fluid under pressure in its second position and the r 5 fluid-inlet passage closed; Fig. 4, a similar view of the parts shown in Figs. 2 and 3,

showing the mechanism for controlling the fluid-inlet passage in the third position with the outlet-passage open, so as to permit the o escape of the fluid from behind the piston;

Fig. 5, a-sectioiial elevation taken on line .5 of Fig. 1, showing the means For connecting and I disconnecting the auxiliary piston and; starting-shaft and the means for returning the aux- 55 iliary piston/to initial postion; Fig. 6, a sec- ,Specificatio'n of Letters Patent. I Application filed February 13, 1904. Serial No. 193,464. I

It relates particularly to the means er'n- I ject of my invention is to. provide a simple, economical, and eflicient,

hydrocarbon en-i Other and further objects of the invention.

Patented Jan; 22,1907;

' tional view in-elevation,taken on line 6 of Fig. 6, looking in the direction of the arrow and'showing the starting-shaft ratchet and f the manner of mounting the pawls which engage such ratchet; and Fig. 7, a longitudinal central elevation of the auxiliary piston-cylinder mechanism.' 7

'In the art to which this invention relates it is well known that the starting-shaft a may be either an auxiliary shaft or may be in the form 'ofacrank-shaft connected to the main piston of the engine of an automobile in any ordinary manner and provided with a fl v wheel I). The'sha'ft it here shown is the or i- ,nary crank -shaft, and as the construction and manner of connecting such crank-shafts with the piston of the main engine by means of connecting-rods is well known to those skilled in the artit is not deemed necessary todescribe the same here.

It is very desirable to provide suitable means for giving this starting-shaft, which, as

already suggested, may be either an auxiliary shaft or a crank-shaft, the necessary impulse to start the engine operation prior to the'ignition. or expansion of the first charge of the fluid under pressure.

this first impulse of the starting-shaft be sufficientto start. the sparker in operation, so that such sparker may ignite the first. and

subsequent charges and the engine be'thus set in operation. i

It is now common to give the starting-shaft its initial impulse by means of a crank turned gengines, particularly automobile-en 'ines. In

order to accomplish this purpose, provide an auxiliary piston-cylinder 0, having an inlet-passage d, which communicates with a In the case of gas or gasolene engines ,it is desirable that suitable source of fluid under pressure, and an outlet-passages. An auxiliary piston f is mounted in such piston-cylinder and prov'ided with a piston-rod g. In order to connect this piston-rod and piston with the starting-shaft for the purpose of producing the desired initial impulse to such starting teeth h, preferably upon its under side, which mesh with the cogs i, of a pinion j. This pinshaft, the piston-rod is provided with rackmeans of a set-screw m in threa ed 'e'ng I ment with such standard, the-standard, .aux-

ion is rotatably mounted upon a rigid shaft is,

which is in alinement with-the axial-center of the starting-shaft, such fixed" shaft being mounted ina suitable socket portion of a supporting-standard l and held in osition by age.-

'iliary cylinder, andstarting-shait being mounte upon, the frame npf the vehicle any ordinary manner, so that such parts will be suitably supported.

The pinion 7 is provided with annular side flanges p, which en age the sides of-the rack.

portion of the auxi ary piston-rod; so as to orma suitable guide for such iston-rod, andby extending the ratchet-teet along the under side of the piston-rod-substantially the entire length thereof it will be seen that the auxiliary piston-cylinder mechanism and its form, permitting the play of the auxi piston the entire e mounted uponthe starting-shaft in fixed re-- a the swinging ends of pawls and having center. 4 studs 3, correspondin operating mechanism is in very compact .ary ngth of the pistonscylinder from its open end q to the front cylinder-head r, thelenglth of the stroke being sufii'cient to produce t e desired number of revolutions of the pinion and of the startin -shaft. The pinion y" is operatively connecte to the starting shaft by means of a ratcht s, which is lation thereto and adjacent to such inion. Pawls t are pivotally mounted upon t e pinion by means of pivotinsu, so as to eng e the inner ratchet-test '0, and suitable coilsprings w are mounted upon supporting- 35 pinion and 'form suitable seats for such studs y, which project from the'side of the Fig. 2 will cause the rotation of thepinion in a corresponding direction, so. as to produce the desired initial impulse to the startingshaft and that the arrangement of the awl and ratchet will permit the auxiliary piston and its rack to be returned to initial position or to remain in any desired position, while, permittmg' the continuedmotation'of the starting-shaft in the direction in which it has been set in motion.

It is well known to those skilled in the art that when the first charge is ignited it sometimes occurs that the starting-shaft isaccidentally rotated or kicked in a backward direction, and it is therefore very desirable that means he provided for reventing injur to the starting mechanism contingency.

In order to accomplish this andto prdvide y reason of suc 1 already .which engages the in its initial means for returning the auxiliary piston and j its rack to inital position, the extreme outerend portion of the piston-rod is made smooth 1 I on its under side, so as to of the pinion independent therack is in its nitial position. For mov-- ing the rack and auxiliary piston back to initial. osition-I provide a secondpinion 5, the teat of which mesh-with the rack-teeth 6,

rmit the rotation which I prefer to arrange upon. the upper side ofthe plston-rod opposite the rack-teeth k. This second 'lpinion is rotatably mounted e in a suitable socket in the standard I,

described and a coil-spring 8 is provided a central opening 9 in such shaft and 1133 outer end connectedto the pinion 5 by means sir tension by rotating the shaft 7 by means of a key fitted to the squared end 7 of such silflft'illlld when the desired'tension is reached t e s ft and spring are. held against. such tension-by means of the set-screw 11, which is mounted in threaded engagement with the socket portion of the standard and with its inner endin engagement with suchshaft. Only half of the upper so'oket ortion of the y of the rack when aft 7, which is in turn mountaving its inner end extending throu h a in 10. This spring is wound to the de-'- standard lisshown in Fig. 5, ut it is substantially identical with the lower socket.

Theinitial movement of the auxiliary piston and rack will rotate the inion 5 agalnst the tension of the spring, and when the air under pressure is sition. The extreme end portion of the rack pinion 1 when such rack is post1on is made smooth, as above su gested, so that such pinion ma rotate in ependently of the rack and wil on] engage 'theteeth of the rack when such rac is moved by the impulse of the auxiliar piston. At all times when the rack-test are in engagement with the teeth of the pis-' tong during" the-stroke of the piston there is an elastic cushion of air behind the piston,

which 'eldingly resists the backward-movement (i gine. This prevents injury to the parts when a rack with a smooth end portion is used,,as

the spring will allowed to escape from the auxiliary piston cylinder throw the piston and'rack back to initial po-' e to the kicking back of the .en-

above described, the rack-teeth being out of engagement with the pinion-teeth when the piston is in initial position.

By this arran ement it will be readily seen that a suita bleand efiicient means is provided for preventingilinjury of the parts y the kicking back of t V quent accidental rotation of the starting-shaft in a backward direction and that the auxiliary' piston and its rack are moved to their initial position quickly and efficiently by e engine and conse-- means of the above-described mechanism for such purpose.

V In order to provide means for supplying fluid under pressure to the auxiliary piston- I cylinder and to provide suitable meansfor controlling the inlet and outlet of such pressure fluid, a fluid pressure tank 12 is provided of sufficient size to contain the necessary amount of fluid under pressure to operate the auxiliary piston mechanism. This tank is connected with the auxiliary pistoncylinder by means of a pipe 13, which forms a passage from the tank to the cylinder, and a three-way cock-14 is mounted in such-passage between the tankand auxiliary pistonchamber andprovided witha cock-lever 15,

Q connected to an operating-lever 16 by means ofa connecting-rod17, such rod-being pivotally connected to the outer swingingend of the cock-lever and to such operating-lever by-means of pivot-pins 18 and 19. The pressure-tank being filled with fluid underpressure the movement of theoperatingJever to I inlet-passage open, so as to permit fluid under 1 pressure to the'parts from such tankinto the pressure-chamber ofthe auxiliary piston-cylinder, so as to force the .auxiliary'piston toward the 1pinion which meshes. with .the rack portion the piston-rod.

.In order to provide means for automatically closing the fluid-passagewhen the desired amount of fluid under pressure has been admitted to. the auxiliary pistoncylinder, a

pin or stud 20 is mounted upon,,one' side of the piston-rod, and a similarpinprstud 2.1

i I is mounted upon the'operating-lever, so ,as to extend into the path of the pin 20. By this arrangement when the piston is'moved from the position shown in .Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 3 the pin 20 on the piston-rod engages the stud 21 upon the operating-lever andfthrows such operating-lever, and thereby the three-way cock, from the p sitio'n shown in dotted lines inFig. 3 to the position in full lines in such figure. The fluideinlet passage is thus closed automatically, and the expansion of the fluid under pressure behind the piston causes it to pass on to the position shown in Fig. 4. When the piston and its rack have reached this third position, it is desirable that the outlet-opening from the pressure-chamber formed by the piston-cylinder be opened, the inlet-p assage remaining closed. In order-that this may be accomplished automatically, a second pin or stud 22 is mounted upon the piston-rod, such pin being of greater length than the pin and of sufficient length .to engage-the operating lever and move it \from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 to the position shown'in full lines in Fig. 4, thus throwing the three-way cock to the position shown in Fig. 4' and "opening the, outlet-passage from the pistons c amben When the parts have reached this position, the fluid under pressure is allowed to escape from the piston-cylinder,

asuitable pump is the position shown in Fig. 2 will leave the and the spring 8 is thus permitted to rotate tion shown in Fig. 2, which will admit the fluidunder pressure with the same result as before, giving the starting-shaft the necessary initial impulse. The operating-lever 16 is pivotally mounted upon a suitable supporting-bracket 23, which is in' turn mounted upon themain frame of the machine in any ordinary manner;

It isnecessary to providesuitable means-v for supplying the pressure chamber with fluid under pressure to be used as above-suggested. In order-to accom lish this, I mount a cam 24 upon the side of the fly-wheel b, and provided and operatively connected with suc cam and provided with a passage leading to the fluid-pressure tank I or reservoir already described. This pump comprises a pump-cylinder 25 which I prefer to'make in two parts, as shown'.in--Fig.;7, so as to enable the same to be-readily assembled and produce the'desired rigidity of the parts.

A suitablepiston 26 is providedwith valves 27,-held yieldingly inclosjed position by means'of springs 28, which are mounted :upon spring-seats 29 upon such piston.

Thesevalves areseatecl in inlet-openings 30 incthe piston, which communicatewith the V outer atmosphere through opehing's31 in the central partition 32 and opening 33 in the rear head 34. The" central partition is provided. with an axial perforation, through which the. piston-rod 35 extends, and the rear head is provided-With asimilar perforation or central-:sooket portion -36, which forms a guide ;for the piston-rod adapted to withstandthe' strains to which such piston- The outer end of the piston-rod is provided with an idler-roll 37, rotatably mount-ed therein upon a journal 38, and a helical spring 39 encircles the piston-rod intermediate the central partition and in engagement with a collar 40 upon such rod, so as to move the piston in the direction opposite to that in IOC rod is subj ectedrby the stroke ofthe cam.

IIJ

which it, is moved by the cam. The front head 41 of the pump-cylinder is provided with a passage 42, which extends through pipe 43 to the compression tank or reservoir already described. The pump-cylinder is pivotally mounted upon the frame of the automobile by means of heavy bolts 44, extending through a socket portion 44 at the end of the pump-cylinder, or in any ordinary and well-known manner, so as to be held. firmly in -o'perative position, but so as to allow the cylmder to swing upon its pivot sufficiently to throw the piston-rod out of the path of the cam whenit is desirable to stop the operation of the pump.

such rod being held in the athpfthe camby:

means of the spring 39. he'pump. iston;is

- thus forced forward to the position s own .in'

Fig. 7, and-asthe can). moves onward out-of engagement-- ,with the pum' piston rod the pump-piston is thrown bac to initial:-position'hy means of the spring 39, the valves opningso' as to admit air to the pressurec amherofthe-pum to-be compressed and forced into Ethe flui -pressure reservoir by means of the next motion-of the pumpiston. he kept constantly charged with su cient fluid under pressure to operate the'starting mechanism.

Iclaim-' n 1. A gas engine-starting' device, comprising a starting-shaft, an auxiliary cylinder,- a piston therein, a piston-rod connected to the piston and to the. start shaft means "for admitting compressed flllld to the cylinder, and means operated by the movement of the piston-rod to regulate the amount'of fluid deivered to the cylinder.

2. A gasee ton-rod toregulate the amount of-. fluid de iv ered to the cylinder, and means alsoncontrolled byithe movement of-the PiSUOIl -Ffid to i open the cylinder-to the atmosphere. 4

3. A aseng'ine-start ing device,- comprising a cy ind'er, a piston therein,- a piston-rod connected to the piston, hand-operated means for admitting motive fluid to the cylinder-,--and means automatically operated by the move- The fluid-pressure reservoir mayt iis.

e-startmgdevice com 'ris- I ing a starting-shaft, an auxiliaryi'cylin er a 'p direction, substantia ment of the piston-rod to regulate the amount .zOf motive fluid 'deliveredto the cylinder.

*4 A as-engine-startingv. device, com-pris- .ing'a cy of the cylinder connected -'to a. compressedder, a'pistontherein, apiston-rod connected to' thepistomvan inlet at one-end fluid supply and having an openingtothe .at-

the:

duringthe movement of'therodtooperate the valve at predetermined times.

5. Agas-engine-startin'g device compris a -.starting'-'shaft, an auxiliary cylinder,

a means for admitting compressed fluidito the cylinder, a piston'mounted in thecylinde'r, a piston-rod connectedwith the .piston and provided with rack-teeth, a inion connected with,.the-starting-'"shaft an havingtteeth in engagement with the rack-teeth upon the piston-rod,- means for openingthe' inlet-passage T to the auxiliary cylinder, automatically-ope ated means to control :the, amountcof admitted tolthe cylinder-rte move the piston in one direction, andameansfor movingthe piston in the opposite direction.

6.- -A- gas-engme-starting device, comp'lis- 'a-- starting-shaft, .sam iauxiliary cylinder provided 1 with an inlet-passage, .a sourceiof compressed fluzid supply, a- .,p1ston.. mounted inlthepilinder, means for connectin the pis'-. ton wlt i .in'g .the inlet-v as'sage to admitcompressed fluid to the c'y in'der, automatically-o erated means-for the amount ;of uiddeliver-ed to ;theipiston to.zmove the piston; in onefli'rection, automatically-operated means for; opening 1 the cylinder to the atmosphere,- and. means for .moving the .tpiston intheo yes describe v JOHN 10-. .HOBBS. Witnesses v g HARRY 1. Quentin, v

Mnunn-DnnnnLn the starting shaft; means 'or open 

